Real Receipts is the estimated amount of local revenue for each district in Evidence-Based Funding.

Adequacy Target is the minimum amount required to provide a high quality education.

The Evidence-Based Funding law enacted in August 2017 comprehensively changes the way that Illinois school districts receive the bulk of state funds. The new formula seeks to increase the adequacy of school funding to provide a safe, rigorous, and well-rounded learning environment for all students as well as improve the equity of distribution of state funding.

The new funding formula is based on extensive calculations using local evidence and state data. For instance, a district’s Adequacy Target draws on the costs of as many as 34 factors essential to a high-quality education in that district. Regional differences in costs are also included in the calculations.

Each district is placed in a “tier” which indicates access to additional funding over the basic minimum state allocation, a hold harmless amount that guaranteed no districts were “losers” under the new formula. Tier 1 and Tier 2 districts receive 99% of additional funds appropriated for this purpose by the General Assembly. The Evidence-Based Funding formula performs the calculations for distribution of additional funds in three stages.

Determining the cost of educating all students, according to defined cost factors. The result is the Adequacy Target for each district.

Measuring each district’s local resources for comparison to the Adequacy Target.

Distributing additional state funds to assist districts in meeting their Adequacy Targets.

Scroll through the screens for a high-level overview of the Evidence-Based Funding calculations. Go to Resources for further explanation of the funding formula’s calculations and operation.